How to Easily Cook Bacon Without a Mess

Bacon is arguably mankind’s best discovery, second only to fire. Bacon is the perfect way to add a side of protein to your morning routine, and nothing helps bump up any meal, from scrambled eggs to a side salad, from bland to house-favorite.

One of the things that make bacon one of the most delicious breakfast meats is its high-fat content. Unfortunately, anyone who has tried cooking bacon in a skillet in large batches knows how frustrating it can be to deal with grease popping and cracking everywhere during the cooking process.

Not only that but trying to cook enough bacon to feed an army on a single skillet can take hours, which is less than ideal.

That’s where oven cooked bacon comes in. If cooked correctly, there is no difference between oven baked bacon and stovetop bacon. You may even be able to get that crispy, crackly bacon that we all adore so much.

Before you dive right into baking your bacon, there are a few tools you’ll want to have on hand, as well as some simple tricks to make sure your bacon cooking experience is as glorious as the taste will be.

1. Heat Things Up

In order to get your bacon nice and crispy, you’ll need to make sure your oven is set to 400°F. This will allow the fat to render and your bacon to get nice and cooked through without any hassle. Before putting your bacon on the pan, line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil. This will catch any extra grease that makes its way out of the bacon and saves you cleaning time later on.

2. Cool Things Down

Looking to really crisp your bacon up? Layer a metal cooling rack over your baking pan. This allows more airflow to make it under the bacon, allow it to cook evenly all the way through. If you’re a bigger fan of floppy bacon, or you don’t have a cooling rack that’s made of metal, you can just place the bacon on top of the aluminum foil.

3. Get Baking

The bacon should be arranged in a single layer on your baking sheet. Layering your bacon means it does not cook as well, leading to soggy bacon and a messy tray. If you find yourself cooking more than a couple servings of bacon, you should use multiple baking sheets, just make sure they are on the same rack to avoid heat dispersal and uneven cooking times.

The bacon should take close to 20 minutes to cook at this temperature, but it all depends on your oven and how the bacon is laid out. It is always a good idea to start checking on your bacon after around 15 minutes since very few people like burnt bacon.

4. Remove the Grease

Bacon fat is easier to take care of when still warm, so transfer tour slice to a side plate coated in a paper towel and pat off some of the excess grease. If your bacon is cooked on a cooling rack, you probably won’t need this step.

Next, now that you have your pan lined with aluminum foil, pour off the grease into a heat-proof container, or dispose of carefully according to local instructions. Bacon grease is a perfect way to add another layer of flavor to any recipe and is especially useful for frying eggs in, so make sure to store some of the bacon grease in the fridge for cooking later.

5. Breakfast is Served

Make sure to arrange the strips on a plate or on the side of whatever dish you are serving. If your recipe calls for bacon bits, cook your bacon until extra crispy and then crumble while still warm. You can also use this method to cook Canadian bacon, just make sure to check the cook time recommended on the packaging. Nothing ruins a good breakfast like undercooked bacon, after all!

See For Yourself

Here is a great YouTube video demonstrating the oven cooked bacon technique:

Oven-baked bacon is the perfect way to add protein to your day without struggling with a frying pan, and its nearly mess-free. Now you can enjoy the best part of the day without worrying about a messy kitchen or a splatter-prone frying pan. After all, bacon makes everything better.